THE MONTESSORI PROGRAM
Our unique Bilingual Montessori Long Day Program is Child Care Subsidy (CCS) eligible and operates Monday to Friday.
​Heathmont
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Rainbow Room (ages 1–3 years): 7:30 am – 6:00 pm, with the option of 8:30 am – 5:00 pm.
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Mural Room (ages 3–6 years): 7:30 am – 6:00 pm, with the option of 8:30 am – 5:00 pm.
Box Hill
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7:30 am – 6:00 pm ( More information coming soon )
We are also an approved Victorian State-Funded Kindergarten program. Families who choose to enrol their child in our funded kindergarten will receive the government’s Kinder Funding Credit, reducing their out-of-pocket fees.
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The Montessori method, developed by Dr Maria Montessori, is a child-centred approach grounded in scientific observation of children from birth to adulthood. It emphasises independence, order, and freedom to explore within clear boundaries. In our classrooms, children learn through purposeful, hands-on activities that engage the senses, support cognitive development, and build lifelong learning behaviours.
Practical Life
Practical Life is the term Maria Montessori used to describe activities that help children gain the skills needed for daily living — caring for themselves, others, and their environment. These exercises form the foundation of independence and confidence.
Children engage in purposeful tasks such as pouring, sweeping, washing, preparing food, and arranging flowers. These familiar activities connect the child’s experiences at home with those in the classroom, allowing them to imitate meaningful adult work and feel a sense of belonging.
With repetition and gentle guidance, children develop coordination, concentration, and problem-solving skills. More importantly, they experience the deep satisfaction that comes from mastering everyday tasks.
Practical Life activities help children understand and adapt to their culture, build self-control, and experience dignity through purposeful work. Each carefully chosen activity empowers the child to care for their world with confidence, grace, and pride.
Sensorial
Sensorial education lies at the heart of the Montessori approach. It supports the child’s natural human tendencies for exploration, movement, order, concentration, and independence. Through sensorial materials, children refine their ability to observe, compare, and classify the world around them — laying the groundwork for abstract thinking and deeper understanding.
Maria Montessori believed that children learn by using all their senses. The Sensorial materials are designed to help children organise and make sense of the countless impressions they receive each day. By touching, comparing, and manipulating the materials, children learn to recognise and name qualities such as size, shape, texture, colour, sound, weight, and temperature.
These experiences help the child build patterns of logical thought, precision, and self-discipline. As children explore and repeat activities with focused attention, they develop confidence in their ability to observe and understand their environment.
The child’s mind is awakened to the beauty, order, and detail of the world through sensorial education, thus, preparing them for future learning in mathematics, language, and science, and enriching their appreciation of life itself
Mathematics
In Montessori education, mathematics is more than just numbers. It is about understanding patterns, relationships, and the order that exists in nature and in our daily lives. Maria Montessori believed that children are naturally drawn to precision and logic, and that mathematical thinking develops through hands-on exploration long before abstract learning begins.
Children experience mathematical concepts in a tactile and visual manner through the use of concrete Montessori materials. They learn to count, sort, measure, compare, and recognise patterns, discovering for themselves how quantities relate to symbols. These experiences build a strong foundation for later abstract thinking and problem-solving.
As children work with the materials, they develop skills such as counting, predicting, estimating, organising, classifying, and sequencing. More importantly, they come to see mathematics as something meaningful and beautiful that are connected to art, nature, and the world around them.
Language
Language in the Montessori classroom is not taught as a subject but rather, a living, evolving process that unfolds naturally as the child grows and interacts with the world. From birth, the child’s absorbent mind takes in every sound, tone, and expression in their environment. By around the age of six, the child reaches the third point of consciousness - an awareness that sounds and words carry meaning, and that this meaning can be represented through written symbols.
The Montessori approach supports this progression by providing an environment rich in spoken language, storytelling, conversation, and song. Gradually, children are introduced to the phonetic sounds of letters using tactile materials such as the sandpaper letters. This multisensory experience allows them to connect sound, symbol, and movement in a way that feels natural and joyful.
As their understanding deepens, children begin to blend sounds, form words, and express ideas through writing — often writing before they read. In this way, literacy emerges as a reflection of the child’s internal development rather than as a goal imposed from outside.
The purpose of language education in Montessori is not academic advancement, but the cultivation of self-expression, independence, and connection. Through language, the child learns to communicate thoughts, share experiences, and build relationships, which are all essential steps in their journey toward understanding themselves and the world around them.
Culture
In Montessori education, Culture helps children make sense of the world and their place within it. It connects them to nature, people, and traditions, promoting curiosity, belonging, and respect for diversity. At Bilingual Montessori Early Learning, we see Culture as a beautiful way for children to celebrate the world around them and the communities they are part of.
The Cultural area of our Montessori classroom introduces Geography, Science, Botany, Zoology, History, Art, and Music. Through Geography, children explore land, air, and water, learn about maps and continents, and discover the people, food, and music of different cultures. These experiences build global awareness and appreciation for others.
When exploring Science, children observe, predict, and experiment ,for example, testing what sinks or floats, or exploring how the seasons change. Botany connects children to the natural world as they study seeds, parts of a plant, herbs, and the lifecycle of trees. Activities like using botany puzzles, tracing leaf shapes, or going on a nature trail deepen their connection with the environment.
In Zoology, children learn about animals and their unique characteristics. They may even help care for a class pet, developing empathy, gentleness, and responsibility.
Through culture exploration, children begin to see how beautifully interconnected life is. They gain a sense of wonder, respect, and joy in discovering the shared world we all belong to.
Bilingual Program
At Bilingual Montessori Early Learning, children are given the opportunity to develop naturally in two languages — English and Mandarin. We recognise, as Maria Montessori discovered, that children between birth and six years of age possess an Absorbent Mind — an extraordinary ability to take in language effortlessly through daily experiences and interactions.
In keeping with Montessori philosophy, the second language is not taught through formal lessons, but through living language — spoken naturally throughout the day as part of the prepared environment. Educators use Mandarin in meaningful, practical contexts such as greeting, care routines, songs, and conversations about daily life. This approach allows children to make authentic connections between words, actions, and emotions, helping them understand and use language with confidence and joy.
Our bilingual program also strengthens each child’s sense of identity and belonging, encouraging appreciation for cultural diversity and global understanding from an early age. To support all families, we also provide access to interpreters when needed, at no extra cost.
Daily immersion and respectful communication will allow children to grow as confident communicators who can express themselves with warmth, understanding, and curiosity in both languages.
